How this popsicle boat stays afloat
PopsicleBoat is free, and there's no catch. This page says out loud what that means, because "free" has earned some fair skepticism on the internet.
What it costs
For now it costs virtually nothing to me. It runs on a couple of small servers, some file storage, and an email service. For me it's on the order of a nice dinner out each month. I pay it myself, happily. There are no investors and no growth targets, and nothing here survives by selling your attention.
Why am I doing this?
It's a passion project for me. I'm doing it because I know first hand what the internet used to be. I also know what it is now. It can be bloated, ad-driven, and invasive. At the same time, the actual tactile experience for a user has come a very long way.
I believe in free and open communication. I want to bring back the simple, open internet. Built with today's technology, so it feels better than it ever did.
What will never happen
No ads. No tracking. No selling data. There's nothing collected worth selling. The privacy policy is one page of plain sentences.
If PopsicleBoat ever disappears
If I ever have to shut it down, it won't vanish overnight: there will be months of notice, and a way to take your posts and replies with you.
If your blog uses PopsicleBoat for comments, you're already covered. Conversations are built into your site's own pages at deploy time. Your blog keeps every comment it has ever shown, no matter what happens here. PopsicleBoat for bloggers
Someday, maybe
If the boat ever grows enough that the bills matter, the plan is an optional supporter tier. Never a paywall, never ads. Until then: it's small, it's paid for, and it's not going anywhere.
Talk to me directly
Questions, doubts, ideas — they come straight to me, not a support queue. There's exactly one person behind this page, and everything below reaches me directly.